


Radiation is a Worry

by Hawkscape



Series: Redtail Tales [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Needles, Other, Protective Raul, Protectiveness, Radiation Sickness, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 17:57:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5880334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkscape/pseuds/Hawkscape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mistaken foray into an irradiated town leads to some trouble for the courier Redtail. Can Raul and Rex help them before it's to late?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Raul, Redtail, and Rex (try saying that three times fast) were briskly making their way across the Mojave wasteland towards the next town Red had marked on their Pip-boy. “Should be able to make it there by sundown” the cowboy mused with their eyes still glued to their wrist. “There also seems to be some kind of...something on the way there. S’not named though.” 

They couldn't see Raul smirk slightly behind them. “You say that as though we're not a hundred percent certainly going to investigate it, Boss” Redtail huffed and continued to look forward towards the horizon. “Well, it’s not like it’s out of our way. Besides, scavenging for supplies is an essential part of life in the wasteland.” The courier thought they had read that somewhere in a survivalist manual. 

Raul shifted his pack slightly, making the junk inside clanging audibly. “Exactly how essential are 20 or so snack cakes?” 

Red threw their hands up indignantly, but with no real fire. “I got those for you, Raul! You think I don't notice you drinking nothing, but Nuka-Cola? You’re lucky that the only food that survived the war was highly processed junk food.” 

Raul shrugged and conceded. “Touche, Boss.” They didn't talk anymore as they walked towards the town and thus the unmarked anomaly. Raul began to think, had Red really gone out of their way to get him snack cakes just because they noticed he had a sweet tooth? Maybe he didn't give their perception enough credit. He had thought that maybe they tolerated his company because of his fix-it and gunslinger skills, but he was starting to think that they might actually just like him for him. A small voice told him to be careful, because of the last two times he had gotten this close with someone. 

He was broken from this revere by his companions whistling. They were looking over a small ridge on what seemed to be the remains of a town. It looked to be surrounded in green fog that denoted high amounts of radiation. Raul looked at his companion for their assessment. The courier let out a hum before speaking. “Must be some good loot in there.” 

The ghoul shifted the weight of his pack. “How do you figure that, boss?” 

They started sliding down the ridge with a bright smile on their face while responding. “Same reason they bury treasure, It’s hard to get to.” 

Raul kept a close eye on his companions footing. They should be careful to make sure they don't twist an ankle. When did he start worrying about them on these ridges more than himself? He shook his head as they touched down on more even ground. In front of them was the main part of a small bombed out town. Thick with fog and off to the right seemed to be the town's farm and irrigation system. Red surveyed their surroundings before checking the time. 

“We kind of need to get a move on right quick, so let’s split up. Me and Rex ‘ll go check the main town, can you check out that farm shack?” Raul must have given Red a look because they huffed slightly. “I have tons of Rad-X and RadAway along with that godforsaken radiation suit if I really need it. I don't think it does much, but it makes me feel better to have it.” Raul thought the same. He still got a sudden knot in his stomach, but he pushed it away. He wasn't the kid's mother and he knew more than most people in the wasteland that they could take care of themselves. “Meet back here in ten.” They said as they gave a jovial wave and walked off, being avidly tailed by their robot dog. 

The ghoul turned to his own destination and began walking while stewing in his thoughts. ‘What trouble could they get into in ten minutes?’ Raul had been Red's partner long enough to know the answer.


	2. Chapter 2

The old vaquero had been sifting through farm equipment and scrap metal for a while before he found anything useful. An old burned out motor from what looked to be some kind of medium sized robot. They always could get good caps for large chunks of parts like this, even if some of them were broken. Was it worth the extra weight was the question. Raul was still puzzling over the machine, seeing if there were any parts that he could cannibalize for his own projects, when a loud sound made him nearly drop the heavy mechanism on his foot. He swore quietly in Spanish as he crouched behind a self and went for his piece. Raiders? No. He listened closer and it was just one dog barking. It was hard to tell due to distance, but it seemed to be from Rex. He stood up slightly craning his neck to try and pick up any other signs of a fight, like the rapid clicking of Reds 10mm machine pistol, ‘Speedy’. He didn't hear anything but Rex’s continued barking. What would cause Rex to go off like that? Raul got up and popped his knees slightly. He was getting too old for this, but he knew that he could never stay put and live quietly. His past would catch up with him eventually and he would drown in the loneliness of it. Despite his occasional expression of annoyance at his partners constantly chatter, he was thankful for the distraction from his own thoughts. He couldn't keep running forever, but he could sure try. Maybe he thought that the cowboy could solve his problems like they seemed to solve everyone else's who they came across. He could hope. 

Raul broke out of his musings to Rex’s barking becoming louder, as if it was coming closer. He put his back to the wall by the door and opened it slightly to peer out. The mechanical mutt was bounding towards the shack at exponential speed, its mouth snapping in a never ending volley of noise and no Red in sight. The ghoul had never seen Rex so worked up out of battle. Was there some enemy outside of the shack he couldn't see? He had assumed that the dog would stop at the perimeter, but it instead bounded through the slightly open door, bashing its mechanical brain case against the door to send it flying open. Raul held up his hands. “Whoa Rex, mijo, the door wasn't locked.” This did nothing to placate the dog as it had now began to jump up on its back legs in agitation. It had now forgone barking for pushing the ghouls legs towards the open door. Raul had been around long enough to know to trust animals when they acted like something was wrong. Something must have happened to Red. 

The ghoul and the dog both bolted out of the shack, one behind the other. Rex seemed to know exactly where they were going and Raul continued to scan his surroundings for potential threats as he followed. They rounded a corner of one of the crumbling buildings and Raul was able to make out their partner sitting slumped against a broken wall and not moving. The fist around his heart clenched so sharply it was hard to breath. “Boss!” He rushed forward, kneeling down and holstering his gun in one smooth motion. He shook there shoulder trying to get a response when he noticed their Pip-boy clicking excitedly. He examined it. “6 Rads a second? Oh, come on boss…” He put one of their arms around his shoulder in an attempt to lift them up. Red raised their head slightly and tried to look at their savior, but their eyes were unfocused and blurry through there skewed sunglasses. 

“Ra...l…? I don feel good...” Their nose was bleeding rather profusely and adding to the slurring of their speech. 

Raul wasn't getting very far carrying them like this so he had to rethink his plan. “Hold on Boss, you're going for a ride.” He bent down and grabbed the rad victim's legs and hoisted them over his shoulder. The courier gave a dissatisfied groan as they flopped loosely against his back. There glasses held on, but there hat tumbled uselessly to the dirt. The delirious cowboy made a grab for it, but it was dutifully picked up by Rex as they began to all make their way out of the irradiated town. Raul tried not to think about how he used to play with his sister by carrying her around this way. 

They made it to a small cave in the side of the hill overlooking the town. Raul set his boss down on some softer looking rocks by the cave's entrance before he went through his pack trying to look for supplies and muttered to himself. “Oh don't worry Raul, I have tons of Rad-X, I wont even pass out and need to be rescued by my dog.” The ghoul tried to calm his nerves with sarcastic comments to no one, but it didn't lessen the black hole where his gut should be. It had seemed like they had taken all their RadAway already. Pendejo should have turned back when they used there last bag. “No Raul, I need this bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla even though we just went to a factory filled with them.” Seeing Red chug those things on the battlefield would have made him laugh if they weren't usually under fire when it happened. 

Raul searched through his bag to see if he had any medicine. Some Med-X and Stimpaks were about it. Of course, why would you give a ghoul stuff for radiation poisoning? He jammed a Stimpak into there neck as he tried to think of some way to fix this. He couldn't do this again, his life couldn't just be a perpetual repeat of losing people he loved. Did he love Red? He looked at his partners mismatched eyes partially hidden by their sunglasses and the scar of the gunshot they had taken to the head partially hidden by perpetually messy hair. Yeah, he did. 

From the incessant whining and pawing at there clothes, it seems that Rex echoed his sentiment. Raul scratched behind their ears in an attempt to make both of them feel better when it hit him. “I think everyone's an idiot, but this dog.” He maneuvered Rex closer and started unhooking the dog's pack. Raul had completely forgotten that Red used the canine companion to carry odds and ends. Would they have given Rex any…? 

“Ah-ha!” The mechanic triumphantly pulled a pouch of RadAway out of the small satchel. “I don't know why you expect a dog to be able to use pharmaceuticals, but right now I’m not complaining.” He quickly realized that he had never used one of these before. “Can’t be to hard. Juiced up raiders use it with no problem.” He picked up Red's arm causing them to stir with a slight groan. 

“Ha-at?” Raul wondered if they had heard them right, before remembering Rex right next to him carrying said object. He huffed slightly in amusement. Of course they were worried about their goddamn hat. They had gone through 3 or 4 styles before they settled on this one and had worn it ever since. Raul tried to concentrate on getting the needle unhooked from the RadAway pouch. Did he need to disinfect this? Probably. 

He turned to grab some vodka out of Red pack (could always count on them for booze) before responding as he poured it on there arm.“Don’t worry Boss, Fido got it for ya.” Red's brow creased slightly as if it was extremely hard to process the eight word sentence. They were sweating and shaking slightly now. Raul made a note to get them some water after the medicine. “Take it easy Red, I’ll get you fixed up in a minute.” 

Red closed there eyes and thunked it onto the wall behind them. “Sure Boss.” Raul would have smiled at the odd reversal if he weren't still wrestling with the needle of the Rad Away. “Is this a cap or is this the needle?” He’d seen the cowboy do this a million times and apparently he hadn't paid enough attention. The cap came off with a small pop and flew across the cave. Rex’s ears perked slightly at the commotion. “Well that answers that.” Raul inspected the needle and it seemed to be smaller than the one on the stimpak. He squeezed the bag slightly and some of the red liquid bubbled out of the needle. He aimed for one of the blue veins in Reds arm and pushed the needle before inspecting the bag as he held it above the arm. “Is this flowing? Do I need to squeeze it?” He gave the bag an experimental squish and the needle began to move out of its puncture. “Ah, no, bad, bad, go back in.” He pushed the needle back in fully and sat with his arm raised for a few minutes to let gravity do the work. 

Color came back to Red's face just in time for Raul to have to switch arms. He let out a small sigh of relief then looked down to see that he was shaking more then his patient. It wasn't just the muscle strain, but the sudden relief and nervous energy dissipating. It was a couple more minutes before he notices Red moving slightly. They brought their non-punctured hand up to their head to run it through there hair. They grimaced before speaking. “Ugh...I’m an idiot.” 

Raul nodded and shifted his arm slightly to relieve some of the strain of holding the medicine bag up. “Yep.” 

They pinched the bridge of their nose and clenched their eyes shut. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” 

Raul rummaged through his pack while nodding again. “Yep, radiation poisoning does that.” He tossed a clean water bottle in their lap. “Here.” 

Red slowly took the water and after fussing with the cap one handed they manage to get it open and chug it. Afterwards, throwing it deeper into the cave in annoyance. Raul leaned closer seeming to examine their head. “Does your head hurt?” 

The courier cocked their head to the side for a second before shaking it. “No, I’m dizzy but it doesn't really hurt. I was able to make it to the wall before I-” They were cut off by Raul smacking them hard on the head. They were about to ask what the hell that was for when they caught sight of the ghouls expression. A mixture of anger and fear that was striking for the usually laid back mechanic. 

“Don’t you EVER pull a stunt like that again you pendejo!” Red looked guiltily down at there punctured wrist. They made a confused sound into the scarf around their neck. 

Raul immediately seemed to fall back into his laid back mask. “It's like idiot, but ruder.” 

Red shook their head. “No I mean, I’ve gotten banged up tons of times and you never got like...this before.” They gestured vaguely at Raul's person. 

The ghoul leaned back on his haunches in a more relaxed position while looking out the mouth of the cave, where he noticed the sun was beginning to set. So much for getting to town before sundown. “When it's bullet wounds or animal bites, you do your best to avoid those. Can't help it with what we do.” He turned sharply back to Red, fixing them with his pale eyes. “But, you KNEW you were low on RadAway and you KNEW you should have turned back, but you didn't. Rex had to come get me to drag your ass out of there.” Red was getting a little peeved at Raul's reprimanding. They knew they had messed up, why did he have to hammer it in? If it was that inconvenient for him he could have just left them. “Do know what could have happened if someone wasn’t-” His voice cracked at this moment and he tried to cover it by coughing. The vaquero thought that he wouldn't need to worry about things like that after turning into a ghoul, but no such luck. It was enough to let Red realize what they were missing. Thinking back to what Raul had told them about his life, they should have pieced it together sooner. They almost smacked themselves. but thought maybe they had had enough head trauma for one day. 

“I’m sorry Raul. I didn't realize…” There was a pause that the cowboy hoped their partner would fill in but with no such luck they both simply sat in silence for a while. Red took the needle out of their arm and rubbed the sore spot while they looked out at the sunset. “I sometimes forget that my, ‘self-destructive tendencies’ as Gannon calls them, have an effect on others.” 

Raul had looked at the sunset again, mumbling almost to himself. “damn right they do.” 

Red had never seen him so somber, well except when he talked about...wow they had really pushed his buttons good this time. They shuffled closer to him looking out of the mouth of the cave with him. “I’ll be more careful-” 

Raul interrupted them. “We both know you wont, Boss.” 

The cowboy hated that he was probably right. “I’ll try to be more careful about radiation, how about that?” 

The ghoul gave a small nod and the hint of a smile returned to his face. “It’s a good start.” 

They sat shoulder to shoulder a while longer before Red lolled their head to the side to lay on Raul's shoulder. “Mmm tired.” 

The vaquero's witty comment died in his throat as he decided to just let them both enjoy the moment. He was allowed this. They both were allowed this. The sun had almost completely disappeared through the pink and green haze on the horizon when Red spoke up again. “Hey Raul?” 

The ghoul braced himself for whatever was next. He wasn't sure his heart could take any more today. “Yeah Boss?” 

“Is it bad that after watching this, I want a Sunset Sarsaparilla?” 

Their combined laughter bid the sun goodbye as it disappeared over the horizon for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emotion  
> why

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to drop me a line!  
> http://hawkscape.tumblr.com/  
> https://www.youtube.com/c/HawkScape  
> http://hawkscape.deviantart.com/


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